“You lost control. Again.” The steady, cold voice of Shamir rang out in Catherine’s ears as she stumbled back to her quarters, propped up by her partner’s shoulder as they did.

“Hey! I... I din’t...” Catherine said, slurring her words. “S’not my fault they make ale s’damn good!”

The mighty Thunder Catherine, the blonde haired, blue-eyed legendary Knight of Seiros, still dressed in her armour and white attire, looked the very picture of a drunken, happy mess. Shamir, the blue-haired, purple-eyed legendary assassin and sniper, dressed in turquoise and black, helped her partner along through the monastery grounds.

“You’re lucky these people aren’t students anymore. You’d be setting a bad example.” Shamir said.

“Example... shmample... can’t a woman enjoy a good few drinks?” Catherine asked, incredulous.

“Few?”

“All right, many. But it’s just some good fun! A drinking contest! And I won!”

“For the last time, no you didn’t,” Shamir said. “You challenged the Professor and she wiped the floor with you. They say old Jeralt the Blade Breaker was a legendary drinker. Follows that his kid would be, too.”

“Damn that... professor...” Catherine said, still tripping over and slurring her words. “She’s puny! How can she put away that much ale?” Catherine hiccuped once and then laughed and snorted at the sound.

“Mercs can always hold their drink,” Shamir said. “We’re just better at it.”

They stopped in front of Catherine’s door and the wielder of Thunderbrand met the sharp eyes of her partner. She grinned wide and an idea seemed to strike her alcohol-riddled mind.

“Better, y’say?” Catherine said. “Well then... what else are you better at, huh? Care to do a little training in my room here?”

Shamir raised an eyebrow. “Training?”

“No ale in here but-”

“You’ve had enough.”

“Lemme finish!” Catherine whined, still grinning wide. “Since you were gonna help put me to bed anyway, let’s do something. Just you and me, partner.”

“If you’d just say what this ‘something’ is...”

Catherine grinned wide again, stumbling into Shamir’s arms, who had a bit of trouble holding up the dead weight of her tall, strong partner. “Hey, Shamir... anyone ever tell you how pretty you are?”

“Okay, time to get you to bed,” Shamir said, ignoring the drunken compliment.

“I mean it! You’re good looking, you know that? And you fight well. Just like me!”

Shamir turned her face away from her partner as she kept her propped on one shoulder, opening the door to Catherine’s room. She tried her best to hide the flushing of her cheeks...

“Enough of that,” Shamir said. “You need to sleep this thing off.”

“But we need to train!” Catherine said, stumbling into the room, draped over her partner’s shoulder. “And I had an idea!”

“Train how?” Shamir asked.

Catherine smiled wide again as Shamir helped her sit on her bed, shutting the door behind her.

“I was thinkin’.... you’re real good and sneaky, right? You ever think about what might happen if you get caught?”

Shamir yet again raised one eyebrow. “Haven’t thought about it.”

“Well, d’you think, if you were ever captured, someone might want to try and keep you alive?”

“You mean as leverage?” Shamir asked.

“Yeah! Some kinda hostage, ya know? To ransom you back to us or make us surrender or somethin’. And, if they did, they’d have to make sure you can’t escape, right?”

Shamir rolled her eyes and spotted something peculiar under Catherine’s bed. She had noticed it when they first came in the room but thought it didn’t bear mentioning... until this odd conversation.

She pulled out a wooden crate and placed it on top of the bed, skimming the contents. It was nothing but rope and cloth.

“Is that what this is all for?” Shamir asked.

Catherine’s cheeks went red but she didn’t lose her smile. “Well, somethin’ like that...”

“You think I’d be restrained then, in a situation like that.”

“Yeah!” Catherine said. “And we don’t usually train for that kinda stuff. So, I was thinkin’ it might be, you know, fun to try it out.”

“Training with... getting tied up?” Shamir asked, getting a bit more confused with each passing second.

“Well yeah! And since you mercs are ‘better’ at that kinda stuff, I figured you and me could have a little contest. See who can escape fastest!”

Shamir smirked. “Intriguing...”

Catherine laughed again. “Isn’t it, though? What do you say, partner? Give it a try?”

Shamir and Catherine met eyes and, for the longest time, neither woman could tear herself away from the other’s gaze, lost and entranced... until Shamir gave her head a shake.

“Long as you go first, let’s do it.”

Catherine clapped her on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit, partner! I’ll get ready!”

To her dismay, and secret pleasure, Catherine stared to disrobe right in front of her. Panicked at her sudden rush of feelings, her face turning hot, Shamir stopped her partner.

“What are you doing!?”

“Hey, if it’s training, it’s gotta be somewhat realistic, right? No way, if I were captured, would they let me keep my armour and weapons. Gotta strip down to the undergarments, as they say,” Catherine said.

“Long as you’re wearing something...” Shamir said.

“Great! Let’s get started, then!”

Stripping off her armour, Catherine didn’t take notice of Shamir, hiding her face and looking away while her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red with each passing moment.

Before long, Catherine stood there wearing nothing but her undergarments; a tight, low cut and sleeveless cropped shirt and tight cropped shorts, both white in colour.

“All right, I’m ready! Let’s do this!”

Shamir cleared her throat and took in a deep breath. Without saying a word, she took some rope and cloth from the crate and got to work.

...

“Mmmpph! Mmrrpph rrrpphhh mmmnnngghhh!” Catherine grunted, writhing in her bonds. Her sharp-eyed partner seemed uncomfortable, sitting in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, one arm under her chest, and the other by her chin. Her eyes darted all over the room but they couldn’t seem to stop settling on her partner squirming on the bed.

Shamir had tied rope around Catherine’s wrists, pulling them behind her back, and securing them there. More of it wrapped up her biceps, pinning her elbows together, and holding her arms to her back with more rope around Catherine’s torso, framing her chest.

Her legs were bound at the ankles, calves, and thighs, and a thick, white cloth was stuffed into Catherine’s mouth. More cloth was pulled between her teeth, knotted in the middle, to keep the other cloth inside as it was tied off behind her head.

Shamir had no idea how much time had passed. It had already started to get dark by the time they were back in Catherine’s room and, by then, the sun had completely disappeared from the sky. Shamir watched her partner and friend struggle with the tight ropes but she had not been able to make any progress. Worse, Shamir was beginning to feel extremely warm and she knew exactly why...

“Mmmrrnnnghhh!! Rnnngggghhh! MMMMMMPPPHHH!”

Catherine, drunk as she was, still started to get frustrated that she couldn’t escape Shamir’s ropework. She started to suspect that her friend, the former mercenary, might have more experience with this than she let on.

The struggling went on and on while Shamir shifted awkwardly in her seat, still unable to take her eyes off Catherine. She noticed the sweat glistening off her perfectly tanned skin, the shapely curves of her toned muscles, her strong and pretty legs, the heaving of her chest as she battled the ropes...

Shamir stood up and turned away from Catherine, facing the window for a moment. She closed her eyes and tried to gather her thoughts.

No sense hiding it from myself she thought. But since when do I like this stuff?

Shamir peeked over her shoulder and saw her friend and partner in the Knights of Seiros still battling the sturdy ropes that held her.

Never thought I’d feel that way about someone else again either. But Catherine is... Shamir interrupted her own thoughts and gave her head a shake. Deal with that later.

She turned around and crossed the room, kneeling down next to Catherine’s bed. Catherine stopped struggling for the time being and Shamir pulled the cloth down out of her mouth and left it hanging around her neck. She helped Catherine spit out the cloth in her mouth.

“Hey! What gives? I haven’t escaped yet!”

“Having trouble?”

Catherine grimaced and flexed her muscles, trying to do... anything to loosen the ropes. “I’m not, ngghh! Having, rrghhh! Trouble! It’s just... ggnnnnhhh! How are you so good at this!?”

“Good at what?”

“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”

Shamir just shrugged, her steely composure beginning to return to her. “I know how to tie a knot.”

“I mean restraining... rrnnngghh! People. You ever tied someone up before?”

“I’m not one to take prisoners. You know that,” Shamir said.

“Then how!?”

Shamir smirked. “How what?”

“How are you, grrrrgghh! How are you so damn good at this!?”

The sniper let out a low chuckle. “Is the mighty Thunder Catherine admitting defeat?”

“I’d... gghhh! Never! But you do seem to know what you’re doing.”

Shamir just shrugged again. “You have to know these things as a mercenary.”

“Do you!?”

Catherine started struggling, twisting and wriggling every which way but she just couldn’t seem to find any knots to untie. And there was no way she was breaking out of this strong rope, even as strong as she was.

Shamir laughed this time. “It helps to know. Give up yet?”

“No! But... rrghhhh! Um... I’ve been training long enough. I think it’s your turn.”

Shamir just shrugged again. “Sounds like admitting defeat to me.”

“I never did and I never will! Not to some measly... uuurrrgghhh! Rope!”

“So you still want me to untie you?” Shamir asked.

Catherine sighed. “Fine... yes, I do. But you’re getting tied up next!”

Another shrug. “Suit yourself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Catherine asked as Shamir got to work untying the ropes.

“Nothing. But I feel like raising the stakes. If I get out, I get to tie you up again and put you to bed like that. How’s that?”

Catherine smiled wide. “Oh, you are so on! You’ll regret challenging the great Thunder Catherine!”

Shamir chuckled. “Yes, ‘Thunder’ Catherine. Beaten by a few dozen feet of rope and some cloth.”

“Oh, you’re asking for it, Shamir!”

“Bring it on,” Shamir said with a chuckle.

...

Stripped down to her own cloth undergarments, a matching pair of form-fitting, turquoise shorts and a low cut bra, now it was Shamir’s turn in rope.

Catherine tied her the same way she had been tied but did everything she could tie the ropes with all her strength, knotting them extra tight, and keeping the knots out of Shamir’s reach. When she was finished, she gagged Shamir with three black cloths; one stuffed in her mouth, another tied between her teeth and yet another covering her mouth, tied tightly around the back of her head.

Catherine leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees, fixated by the incredible sight of Shamir squirming around and struggling with her bonds. She started to feel warm all over, watching her pretty friend and her calculated movements, starting to really like hearing the muffled grunts behind Shamir’s gag. It didn’t help that she hadn’t bothered to get dressed again.

She started to realize that this might be exactly what it looked like. They were together, alone, in Catherine’s bedroom dressed in nothing but their underwear, tying each other up and watching each other struggle... while both seeming to have certain feelings. Drunk as she was, Catherine’s mind seemed to sober up at the simple sight of Shamir, tied up and gagged on Catherine’s bed.

Goddess, she is pretty though.... Catherine thought to herself. And I have become very fond her. I think it’s time to admit it to myself. Rhea, Byleth... and Shamir. All irreplaceable in my life. She’s my partner and I couldn’t be happier...

“Hmmpph,” Shamir said, stopping her struggling for a moment. She noticed Catherine staring, meeting her eyes and the two stopped for a moment.

Catherine took in the sight of her then. Sweat dampened her body, giving her already perfect ivory skin an extra sheen. Her sharp eyes, intense, always searching... Catherine found them beautiful. The curves of her slender, athletic body, accentuated by the ropes... She stopped when she could hear someone breathing heavily. Then she realized it was her. And Shamir...

“Um... hey,” Catherine said, sitting back, smiling and shutting her eyes. “You gettin’ tired over there or what, Shamir?”

“Mmph,” Shamir grunted.

“What’s that? Can’t understand you. You’ll have to speak up.”

Shamir just rolled her eyes, though she was smiling beneath her gag.

“Looks to me like you’re having trouble. Want some help?”

Shamir just shook her head, shuffling backwards to lean against the wall the bed sat against. She shimmied upward, noticing Catherine’s transfixed gaze, and starting working her wrists up and down, shuffling her arms back and forth. For Catherine, this created a hypnotic movement of Shamir’s upper body and she leaned forward again, unable to help her stare as her eyes drifted downward to Shamir’s chest...

But that meant she wasn’t paying attention when Shamir finally managed to pick the knot on her wrists loose while, at the same time, slipping the rope on her biceps past her elbows, sliding it downward until...

“No way! How in the world...”

Shamir displayed her freed hands, palms outward, to Catherine. The mighty wielder of Thunderbrand just leaned back in her chair, flabbergasted.

“I swear I put those knots out of reach...”

Shamir continued, working her arms free of the rope pinning them to her back before working her gag loose and untying her legs, standing triumphantly over her dumbfounded partner.

“Nice try,” Shamir said.

“You have to have done this before. Really. How else could you do that?” Catherine asked.

“I’ve been known to get out of my share of scrapes,” Shamir said. “In any case, I win.”

“You... oh. Yeah, I suppose you do. Let’s get this over with then.”

...

Shamir didn’t change a thing about the way she had tied Catherine, save for one thing. She took an extra rope and wrapped it from her ankles, attaching them to her wrists and the ropes around her biceps, as well as the ones pinning her arms to her back. Now firmly hogtied, lying on her stomach, Catherine could barely wriggle around.

“Goddess... you made it even tighter somehow. Rnnnghhh!!” Catherine said.

“Can’t have you getting away,” Shamir said, before she even realized what she was saying.

“Oh? And why’s that?”

“I, uh, well...” Shamir broke her usual stoic facade, stumbling over her words. “Just, well, I said I’d put you to bed like this. So you’re staying like this till morning.”

“Fair enough, I suppose. As long as you watch over me.”

Shamir held several cloths in her hand but she hadn’t yet reached forward to gag Catherine again.

“Something on your mind?” Catherine asked.

“I need to confess something to you,” Shamir said.

Catherine chuckled this time. “You? Confess? Miracles do happen!”

“Laugh all you want, I’m being serious. Well, a little.”

“Go on then. I’m all ears. It’s not like I can go anywhere...” Catherine said.

“I, well... I really liked this.” Shamir finally said after a long pause.

“You... you did?”

“I did. This was fun. I, um... I really like seeing you like this. And, well... I liked it a lot when you tied me up, too.”

“Shamir...”

“But I have to ask one thing. Why did you want to do this in the first place?”

Catherine lowered her eyes, before looking back up Shamir again and flashing a sheepish grin.

“Well, you caught me out here. I wasn’t expecting-”

“Just answer me or I’ll gag you right now.”

“O-okay!” Catherine said, giggling. “The ‘training’ thing was an excuse. Mostly I just wanted to try something different with you. And I wanted to see you, you know, like this...”

“Like this? How do you mean?” Shamir asked, her cheeks beginning to flush again.

“Um... dressed down, if you know what I mean. And in ropes. Kinda. You see, I got interested in seeing what you, and I, would look like tied up ever since I saw this painting that Manuela has and-”

“So you just made up an excuse to get us both tied up?” Shamir asked.

“Yes. Because... I wanted to see it and feel it. To know what it’s like. You know?”

“I think so. Can’t say I ever thought of trying it but... I wouldn’t mind doing this again with you.”

Catherine smiled sweetly. “Really?”

“Really,” Shamir answered, in her usual matter-of-fact tone.

“I’d like that, Shamir.”

Before saying another word, Shamir stuffed a white cloth in Catherine’s open mouth, pulling another between her teeth to seal it in. She used another to cover her mouth, tying that off behind her head too before adding yet another layer, pulling it tight over Catherine’s mouth and nose, once again tying it off at the back of her head.

“Good. Then we will.”

“Hmmpphh!” Catherine said, beaming up at her partner.

“And by the way, I have to say... that’s as fine an excuse as any. You know I can’t pass up training.”

Catherine giggled. “Mmn nmmm!!”

“I’m glad it worked. Have fun escaping that. Or not,” Shamir said with a smile.

For the next few hours, well into the night, Shamir watched her partner struggling on the bed, attempting and failing to free herself from the tight ropes. She just nodded to herself. I could get used to this.